Day Planning

For those of you who just can't seem to get the concept of time management down, I recommend Franklin Covey's prioritizing system. I didn't want to blog about this until it actually became a habit, and being that I've done this consistently for over 21 days (29 to be exact!), that officially makes it a habit I have developed (yaaaaay!!!).

I should be sleeping right now, but I took an hour nap and I'm still pretty wide awake so I thought I'd share the wealth.

I am the classic procrastinator in addition to tendencies toward overachievement and perfectionism. After attending a workshop to help campus ministers manage their tasks and time, I realized that my life was a mess. Okay, maybe not that bad, but it wasn't efficiently run. I wasted a lot of time and a lot of energy, and I could never find the time to do the things that were really important to me. I was always tired and unnnecessarily stressed out, and I really couldn't blame it on my illness. Something needed to change, so I decided to apply everything I learned immediately (there is also the 72-hour rule...if you choose to do something, make sure you get started within 72 hours or you'll never really begin).

It was difficult at first but I was determined to make this system work for me. I have so many facets of my job and of my life that I couldn't not have a plan for my days. Just taking the 15 minutes per morning (or night) alone to plan had to become habit, and then things that I wanted to incorporate into my life needed to become a regular part of my life as well. I had to keep track of how many hours of sleep I was getting, whether I took my medicine and vitamins, what I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if I was able to get any exercise in, how much water I drank during the day.

Of course you don't have to be as anal as I am since I need to log all this stuff to track changes in my health, but it's nice to know that things - especially important things - are no longer slipping through the cracks and not getting done.

There have been a couple of days at the most when I decided not to make a schedule and have a do-whatever-I-want day, and there have also been times when I decided to put off a task or two for a day just so I could visit my sister or catch up with a friend who happens to call out of the blue. Moments like that are important to me, so I definitely don't pass those opportunities up. But gone are the days of feeling unproductive because now it feels like I'm doing more things that really do have purpose.

It's almost 11:30 and I should start winding down, so I'll just leave you with hints on a to-do list for now. Perhaps in my next entry, I'll explain the concept of prioritizing tasks and give you an idea of how I organize my day.

Part One: THE TO-DO LIST
Making the most of your to-do list...

Take a little time each day to build you list of things To Do.

• Include in your to-do list activities that help you move closer to reaching your goals. Moving toward your dream takes effort. Not as much as you might think, but it does take something - a willingness to examine what you want and how you spend your time. Perhaps there is a skill you want to learn, or a place you want to visit, or there is something about yourself you want to improve. Write down something today to move you closer to your goals.
• In addition to activities that will help you reach your goals, you will have tasks that must be completed for work, school, home life, etc. These activities may or may not be directly related to your long-term goals, but they must be completed to keep your life functioning. Write these activities on your list also.
• Be sure that you do not include activities that should appear on your Appointment Schedule. Meetings, classes, doctor visits, and other scheduled items can be listed on your Appointment Schedule in the appropriate time slot and do not need to take up space on your to-do list.
• It also helps to review the upcoming days to see what you can do today to prepare for future events or assignments. Research, agenda preparation, etc., are items that could be put on your to-do list in preparation for the days ahead.

"There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we do it as beautifully as possible."

- Bl. Mother Teresa